Removal of surplus soil including loading

The item usually has three parts. The first is loading: an excavator, wheel loader or compact loader picks up soil from a stockpile or straight from the dig and tips it into the body of a tipper lorry. The second is transport to the agreed destination. The third is tipping at that destination, which may be a landfill, a soil recycling facility or a site that accepts soil for landscaping.

Clarify in advance what is usually not included:

• The excavation itself is priced separately. Removal starts once the pile exists, or when loading happens directly from the dig
• The tipping or gate fee at the landfill or recycling site is often charged separately, based on the weighbridge ticket
• Cleaning the road and the vehicle wheels is often a separate task if it goes beyond a normal sweep
• Sorting soil from rubble, roots or other waste is extra work if the soil is not clean

The price list works in cubic metres. When you order, ask whether this means cubic metres of soil in the ground, that is the volume of the excavation, or cubic metres of loose soil on the lorry. The difference is bigger than most people expect.

Soil in the ground and loose soil

Undisturbed soil has settled and compacted over many years. Once the excavator digs it out, it loosens and its volume grows. This growth is described by a bulking factor. For sandy soils it is usually roughly 1.1 to 1.2, for loamy soils around 1.2 to 1.3, and for clay and stony soils it can be higher. In practice, an excavation of 10 m³ can easily mean 12 to 14 m³ of material on the lorries.

Why does this matter? If the estimate is based on in-ground volume and the haulier invoices by the number of loaded lorries, the figures will not match and a dispute follows. The simple solution is to agree in advance how the volume will be measured and to have it written in the quote.

How the volume is measured

Three methods are common, and each has weak points:

• Calculating from the excavation dimensions is accurate if the dig is measured before backfilling, and it gives the in-ground volume
• Number of loads times body capacity is quick, but it depends on how full each lorry is loaded, and it gives the loose volume
• Weighing at the tip gives tonnes, which are converted to cubic metres using a density figure, and that figure changes with soil type and moisture

Wet clay is heavy. A lorry carrying it often reaches its legal weight limit before the body is full by volume. That is why rainy weather sometimes means more trips for the same excavation.

How much to keep on site

Before anything is removed, work out how much soil you will need back. Backfill around foundations, service trenches and septic tanks, levelling the ground, raised beds or shaping the garden around the house can use up a surprising amount. It often happens that a homeowner has everything taken away and, six months later, buys soil back in. On the other hand, not every soil is suitable for backfill. Clay compacts poorly, and topsoil does not belong in backfill under paved areas or driveways at all.

1. Site visit and agreement. The haulier or site manager looks at access, quantity, soil type and the loading point. Together you agree where the soil will go, what machines will come and how the volume will be measured.
2. Preparing the loading point. The excavator needs firm ground to stand on, and the lorry needs space to stop and turn. On soft ground a temporary hardstanding of gravel is sometimes laid.
3. Loading. The operator picks up soil from the pile or straight from the dig and spreads it evenly across the body. An experienced operator loads so that no single axle is overloaded and soil does not spill over the sides.
4. Sheeting and leaving site. Dry, dusty soil is covered with a sheet. Before the lorry goes onto the public road, the wheels are cleaned so it does not drag mud along the street.
5. Transport and tipping. At the tip the lorry is weighed, the driver receives a weighbridge ticket or a receipt, and the soil is tipped where the site staff direct.
6. Repeat trips and clean-up. After the last load, leftover soil at the loading point is gathered up and the road outside the plot is swept or washed.

How long it takes

An excavator can usually fill one tipper in a few minutes up to about a quarter of an hour. The total time, however, depends mainly on the distance to the tip and the number of lorries. If the tip is close and two or three lorries are running, the excavator loads almost continuously. If it is far away and only one lorry is running, the excavator spends much of the day waiting. A small trench for a service connection can be cleared in a few hours. The excavation for a house slab usually takes one to several days.

Two sites with the same number of cubic metres can differ a lot in effort. These factors decide most of it:

Access and working space

• A wide entrance and firm ground allow a large three-axle tipper, which carries more per trip
• A narrow street, low overhead lines or branches mean a smaller lorry and therefore more trips
• Loading from a back yard, behind the house or across the garden may require a small dumper or loader to shuttle soil to the lorry first, which is an extra step
• Restrictions on heavy vehicles or a weight limit on a bridge along the route mean a longer detour

Soil type and condition

• Dry sandy or loamy soil loads easily and tips cleanly out of the body
• Wet clay sticks to the bucket and the body, is heavy and brings the lorry to its weight limit sooner
• Stony soil and boulders damage the body, and some tips accept them on different terms
• Soil mixed with rubble, concrete, plastic or roots is no longer clean soil, and disposing of it is usually more complicated

Where the soil lies

The quickest method is loading directly from the excavation, with the excavator digging and tipping straight into the lorry. If the soil is spread across the plot in several piles, the machine has to keep moving. A pile that has sat for several months is settled, overgrown with weeds and muddy after rain. Soil that is planned for removal from the start should sit in one place close to the entrance.

Soil as waste

In many countries, excavated soil that leaves the site and is not reused where it was dug is legally treated as waste. Clean, uncontaminated soil and stones usually have their own waste classification and go to inert waste landfills or to facilities that recycle or reuse them. Responsibility for the waste typically lies with the client or the contractor, depending on the contract, so make sure it is clear who is responsible for handling it correctly.

In practice, ask the haulier for proof of where the soil went: weighbridge tickets, a waste transfer note, a receipt from the tip or a similar document. Local authorities or inspectors may ask for records of how construction waste was dealt with, for example at completion of a new house.

Tipping on a neighbour's land or in a field

It is common for someone nearby to offer to take the soil to level their garden. This can be a sensible solution, but it is not automatically allowed. Raising ground levels or landscaping on another plot can fall under local building regulations, and on agricultural land there may be additional rules on protecting the soil. Check with the local building authority before you agree. Do not assume that a verbal arrangement between neighbours is enough. Dumping soil in woodland, next to a stream or on open land without consent is fly-tipping, with all the consequences that brings.

Topsoil and contaminated soil

Topsoil, the fertile upper layer, is valuable. On some developments, especially on former agricultural land, the planning conditions say how topsoil must be stripped and reused. Read the conditions you received before you let it go off site with the rest of the spoil. Even without such a requirement, it is worth storing topsoil separately and using it for the garden and lawn.

The opposite case is soil that smells of diesel or oil, is discoloured, or contains ash, clinker, old tar-based roofing felt or pieces of asbestos cement pipe. Do not mix such soil with clean material. Stop the work and talk to the contractor. Testing may be needed, and the soil may have to go to a landfill for a different category of waste. Asbestos may only be removed by a licensed specialist contractor.

Skips or lorries on the public road

If a skip or the loading operation has to stand on the pavement or road, you are occupying public space. The local council or highway authority decides on any permit and its conditions, so ask in good time. In blocks of flats, for example when digging for a service connection or a basement, agree the lorry position and loading times with the building management or owners' association.

Soil removal is not a stand-alone task but one link in a chain. Good coordination saves trips and stress.

• With excavation: loading straight from the dig is usually more efficient, so book the lorries for the day of the excavation, not for later
• With backfilling: before removal starts, decide how much soil, and which kind, goes back in, otherwise you will remove what you later lack
• With material deliveries: the same lorries can bring gravel or recycled crushed concrete for sub-base layers on the way back, which cuts down empty runs
• With underground services: when loading near marked services, the operator must know where they run, and the bucket must not dig into the ground where cables or gas pipes lie
• With the landscaper: keep topsoil and subsoil apart from the start so the topsoil can be reused later

If the excavator damages a gas pipe during loading and you smell gas, leave the area immediately, do not use naked flames or electrical switches, and call the gas emergency number of your local network operator or 112. If an electrical cable is damaged, keep away from it and call the electricity network operator. Repairs may only be carried out by a qualified, registered gas engineer or a qualified electrician.

• No agreed measuring method. The invoice shows more cubic metres than were dug and nobody knows who is right. The fix is to state in the quote whether in-ground or loose volume is charged.
• Removing everything at once. A few months later you have to buy and deliver soil for backfill. The result is paying for transport twice.
• Soil mixed with waste. The tip refuses it as clean soil, the lorry comes back or goes elsewhere and everything takes longer.
• Pile in the wrong place. Soil heaped at the edge of a trench loads the trench wall and can make it collapse. A pile behind the house means extra shuttling.
• Missing paperwork. At completion or during an inspection there is nothing to show where the soil went.
• Damaged driveway and lawn. A heavy lorry on soft ground leaves ruts and can crack kerbs or block paving. Temporary gravel or ground protection mats help.
• Mud on the road. The council or neighbours complain, and whoever caused the mess is responsible for cleaning it.
• Loading during prolonged rain. The soil is heavy, lorries get stuck and the plot turns to mud. If possible, wait until the soil has dried out a little.

If you only have a few cubic metres of soil, for example after digging a small pond or a flower bed, you can load it yourself into a hired skip or a large bulk bag. The company that supplies the skip or bag takes it away. Work only on level ground, never in a deep trench and never close to underground services.

1. Ask the skip supplier what material they accept and the maximum weight of a full skip.
2. Prepare a firm, level spot for the skip as close to the pile as possible, and if it will stand on public land, check the council's conditions.
3. Sort out larger stones, roots, rubble and any other waste from the soil.
4. Separate the topsoil and set it aside for later use in the garden.
5. Load soil with a shovel or wheelbarrow over a sturdy ramp, not by lifting it above your head.
6. Spread the soil evenly across the whole skip and do not fill above the rim.
7. Fill the skip less with wet clay so it is not overloaded.
8. Sweep around the skip and the road once loading is finished.
9. Ask for a document showing where the soil was taken when the skip is collected.

When loading by hand, spread the work over several days and wear gloves and sturdy boots. A cubic metre of soil weighs roughly 1.5 to 2 tonnes and tires you out faster than it looks.

When removal is finished, walk round the plot and go through the paperwork. Before you sign off the work, check:

• The agreed quantity has been removed and the soil reserved for backfill is still on site
• The way cubic metres were calculated matches what was in the quote
• You have weighbridge tickets or receipts from the tip or facility
• The number of loads matches the number of documents
• Topsoil has been stored separately, if that was agreed
• Kerbs, paving, fence, driveway and lawn are undamaged
• The road outside the plot is clean
• No leftover soil or waste remains at the loading point
• Marked services and their markers are undamaged